MLB: Phillies win third straight

By DENNIS DEITCH, 21st Century Media

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have a path that can lead them to the postseason. It might not be easy to find and follow, but it exists.

That path, however, cannot be cleared without Cole Hamels at his best for the final three months. The July tea leaves are hinting that the southpaw is ready to put the harrowing first three months behind him.

Hamels dominated for seven innings, but it was his eighth-inning gut check and victory over former teammate Jayson Werth with the bases loaded that allowed the Phillies (45-46) to win their third straight, 4-2, over the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night.

It locks up a third straight series victory over an above-.500 team for the Phils, who go for a sweep of second-place Washington Wednesday night.

This game boiled down to the Hamels-Werth showdown, a battle of two players who have been heating up in July. Werth entered the night hitting .407 (11-for-27) in the month and used his first plate appearance to take Hamels deep for his ninth homer of the season and a 1-0 lead for the Nationals.

That was the only blemish for Hamels, as he tore through Washington’s struggling lineup through the first seven innings. He was at 90 pitches entering the eighth and seemed primed to go the distance on a night closer Jonathan Papelbon wasn’t available.

It wouldn’t be that easy. After getting the first out, Scott Hairston rolled an infield single to short. Then, in a scene too familiar to frustrated fans, Charlie Manuel’s defensive replacement in right, John Mayberry Jr., showed that there are times he’s no better than Delmon Young out there. Anthony Rendon skied a towering fly ball to right that carried to the fence … except Mayberry for reasons tough to figure out was at a part of the fence about six feet from where the ball landed.

Fortunately for the Phils, Hairston thought Mayberry might catch it like he should have, so he had to stop at second. When Bryce Harper followed with a walk, Manuel took a stroll to the mound.

He wasn’t going to take Hamels out, it was just to allow Hamels to recharge his battery on the sultry night.

“I just said, ‘I’m not going to take you out,’” Manuel said. “I said, ‘You got him?” And he said, ‘I got him.’ And he got him.”

He responded by striking out Kurt Suzuki for the second out, setting up the showdown with Werth. He got ahead 0-2 thanks to a friendly strike call on a high curve, but Werth worked it to a full count. The payoff pitch was sent to deep right-center field, but Ben Revere tracked it down about 10 feet in front of the 398-foot sign.

The inning emptied Hamels’ tank, so it was up to Antonio Bastardo to finish the game. Mayberry had more trouble on a Wilson Ramos drive that turned into a two-out RBI double to cut the Phils’ lead to 4-2, but Bastardo got Hairston to pop out to Chase Utley and get the save.

The Phils got all their runs off Washington starter Taylor Jordan, with some help from shoddy defense. Dom Brown followed a two-out double by Chase Utley in the fourth with an RBI single to tie the score. In the sixth, Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins opened the inning with hits, then Adam LaRoche tried to go to second with an Utley grounder for the force, but the throw glanced off Rollins’ arm, allowing Revere to score. Michael Young added needed insurance with a two-out double to center.